Mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets, “phablets,” and the like, are always-on and typically always carried by users. That is, mobile devices are the first contextual device always with us. A key aspect of mobile devices is messaging, such as text messaging, email, instant messaging, etc. Various mobile device platforms have various messaging applications and platforms, such as Apple's iMessage, SnapChat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Blackberry Messenger, etc. While conventional messaging applications and platforms have developed rich features including file sharing (pictures, video, etc.), real-time audio/video, emoji, and the like, conventional messaging applications and platforms do not yet work seamlessly with other mobile applications, such as maps, calendars, to-do lists, etc. Specifically, information contained in messages can be scanned, and the mobile device can make a judgment that a particular piece of information is a date/time for a calendar, a phone number, etc. However, this is not integration. At best, this approach creates a hyperlink for a subsequent action by the receiving user. For example, touching or clicking on a phone number causes a phone app to dial the number, touching or clicking an address causes a map app to bring up the location, etc. Conventional approaches require manual effort by the user to take information from messages and perform actions in other applications on the mobile device.
Additionally, a variety of tools exist for assisting businesses to operate, such as, without limitation, accounting packages, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, workflow management systems, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, timekeeping systems, and the like. These tools can be collectively referred to as software packages that assist businesses, their owners, employees, etc. in day-to-day operations as well as strategic operations. Businesses can generally be classified by size, i.e. small to medium-sized businesses and large businesses. In the context of large businesses, these organizations generally have rich Information Technology (IT) infrastructures along with customization of the aforementioned software tools to their specific needs. Furthermore, large businesses include infrastructure and employees dedicated to operating various corporate functions (e.g., accounts receivable, accounts payable, human resources, etc.). These various corporate functions can be generally referred to as the administrative tasks associated with running a business. In the context of large businesses, employees and business owners are only required to focus on a small subset of the administrative tasks of the business.
Small and medium-sized business owners and employees are typically good at their associated core business, but not so much with respect to the administrative tasks. This is as expected—small businesses are successful because of their core business focus, not because they operate with optimal efficiency from a financial, manufacturing, etc. perspective. Disadvantageously, small and medium-sized businesses do not have the scale for a rich IT infrastructure, customization of software tools or use of the software tools, or dedicated resources to perform the administrative tasks. A further observation is that most “off-the-shelf” tools for small and medium-sized businesses are directed to the accountants or bookkeepers for the business, not the business owners or employees. Furthermore, these “off-the-shelf” tools are typically primarily used by the accountants or bookkeepers as a compliance tool for preparing tax filings and the like. Having small and medium-sized business owners and employees become experts in such tools is not an optimal solution as it inevitably takes them away from the core business focus. However, the important data is there in such tools and is not presently being provided to the small and medium-sized business owners and employees in a manner that enables them to optimize business operation and overall productivity.
Thus, there exists a need for contextual messaging which integrates messaging into other applications and platforms on a mobile device along with contextual task/to-do management using the mobile device.